Google is the largest media company in the world, generating more advertising revenue than any other company. Many charities and nonprofits depend on Google ads to connect with potential donors, particularly in moments of crisis like natural disasters.

In a January 2025 story, The New York Times reported how charities have been negatively impacted by a 2023 Google ad rule change: third-party advertisers are now allowed to reference trademarks that belong to other organizations. Google’s real-time “auction” system for ads meant that these third-party advertisers can now have their own ads appear instead of those of nonprofits and charities.

As a result, the Times says, nonprofits and charities are paying more for ads, depleting their more-limited marketing budgets sooner and costing them visibility during critical times.

Google Ad Rule Change Confuses Potential Donors

The Times article lists a number of examples of Google’s revised rule affecting charities and nonprofits:

• Searches related to U.N.H.C.R.—the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees—led to misleading ads in Google’s search results.
• When users clicked a link for “Samaritan’s Purse Giving—Visit Our Website,” they were taken to the advertiser’s website rather than the charity’s.
• An ad for “Amnesty International website—right here” was actually an invitation to run a search using another site.

Google sells ads in real time, using an automated ad auction system. This means that nonprofits can technically make their ads about themselves appear again by paying Google more. But this exhausts their limited marketing budgets more quickly.

How Google’s Ad Auctions Work Against Nonprofits in Particular

When generating search results, Google shows a limited number of ads as well. Advertisers provide Google with ads and budgets in advance. Then, whenever a person searches for something, Google runs an automated ad auction, determines which advertiser, in effect, “bid” more, and displays the winning ad on the search results page.

Before Google’s rule change, only certain parties like review sites could use third-party trademarked brand names. After Google’s change, dozens of advertisers began submitting ads to appear on searches related to nonprofits. More competition and successful bids meant higher ad prices overall.

This was a particular problem for nonprofits, who have more limited budgets. In fact, many charities and nonprofits are even graded by charity rating services based on how much of their revenue goes to their charitable mission rather than administrative costs like marketing and fundraising.

Google’s Change Costs Charities and Nonprofits

As a result, charities and nonprofits appear to have suffered in terms of visibility and donations. The Times article mentions:

• A major charity, which asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retribution, paid Google $200,000 to advertise, double what it paid in previous years. This exhausted the group’s budget before its biggest fundraising day of the year, December 31. As a result, the charity told the Times that it lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.
• When Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina, nonprofits like Samaritan’s Purse and Americares posted ads on Google search, trying to collect donations to help storm victims. A number of third-party advertisers out-bid their ads, costing them traffic and donations.